


To The Victor

by ForeverLilacLies



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Guilt, M/M, Mutilation, Not A Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-06 00:01:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16377578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForeverLilacLies/pseuds/ForeverLilacLies
Summary: It was cliche. Negan acting as the knight in shining armor to save Rick from an attack. Negan should have known better than to believe in fairytales.Negan had only wanted to scare Rick, to show him why he needed Negan. Fear goes a long way, but so does revenge.





	To The Victor

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU where Michonne and Rick never got together.
> 
> This was written on my phone, I apologize for any mistakes. 
> 
> Based on as ask I sent to Hatterized that I kept thinking about.

Negan had set out three rules. Do not kill him, do not disfigure him and do not give away the plan. It was so _**fucking**_ simple. Follow the steps and be done with it. 1 2 3. There was no chance they could fuck it up, but somehow they managed.

 

Rick had been getting difficult. Refusing to fall in line and stay there. He still pushed back and remained a thorn in Negan’s side. Threats only went so far. He saw Negan as a monster and nothing could change that. So, Negan decided to improvise. Decided he needed to offer a demonstration, no matter how underhanded it was.

 

It should have been easy.Negan had plenty of people at his disposal and he picked out some that had never and would never set foot in Alexandria. They were his prisoners, like that dog Daryl and Negan had pulled them aside and offered them freedom if they complied. They all agreed to it. They were all desperate and none of them knew who Rick was. Just a meal ticket to freedom. Rick would not recognize them. Negan gave them clothes. He fed them and allowed them to bathe, hoping it would entice them to do as they were told. He had sent one of his more loyal men out to ensure they did their job correctly. His radio had never gone off. He thought it was going fine.

 

They would rough Rick up a bit, not enough to do any permanent damage, just enough to scare him. Just enough that he would want Negan on his side.Negan would swoop in and save Rick, showing him that he had his best interests in mind. He would let Rick think that Negan was his knight in shining armor. He had figured it would be more effective to show this by saving Carl or the little angel, but something about using those kids made his stomach churn. It felt wrong.

 

He didn’t want to hurt Rick. It had been necessary in the beginning, but now the thought was revolting. He just needed to scare him. Bruises would heal. Rick’s attitude would not.

He anticipated a struggle. As cliche as it was, Negan thought he could win Rick over this way. As fucking stupid as it was, he thought he’d fight them off and let them go on their merry way.

 

It was a cardinal rule that Saviors do not rape. It was cardinal rule that Negan’s word was law. It was cardinal rule that death was punishment for failure to abide by Negan’s laws. This applied to his prisoners as well. He shouldn’t have needed to remind them.

 

He shouldn’t have let them touch him.

 

He began to get a clue when no one was at the location Negan had specified. He had drawn it out so they would not be bear any communities. Rick had become predictable with his scavenging. They would flank him on all sides, leaving no room for escape. Negan would receive notice when he needed to show up.

 

But they weren’t there.

 

When Negan finally found him, time stood still. The prisoners were long gone, escaping on foot rather than risk the truck being recognized.

 

They left Rick in the dirt. The Savior Negan had sent out lay dead in the road, his throat slit and his skull bashed in. The clearing was silent.

 

Rick was sprawled out on the ground, blood streaking down his face which was turned to the side. His ratty jeans were bunched at his thighs, his belt had been wrapped around his throat and tethered to the base of the truck keeping him trapped and unable to escape.

 

What if a stray walker had gotten to close? What if something had gone wrong?

 

Something already had gone wrong...

 

Negan had underestimated them. Thinking they feared him enough to do as he ordered. But their hatred had outweighed their fear and they managed to come to the conclusion that Rick was someone of importance to Negan.

 

He should have figured.

 

Lucille fell from nerveless fingers. For a moment he didn’t dare move. Then Rick turned his head, coughing wetly.

 

“Shit, c’mon Rick, I got you.” Negan stumbled towards Rick, who was falling in and out of consciousness,gurgling noises escaping his throat. The Savior leader fell to his knees, reaching out with shaking hands to try to rouse the younger man. The blood on his face was pouring from his mouth. Negan turned his head tipping his mouth open, looking for the source. When he found it, he jerked back, nearly falling on his ass.

 

His tongue...

 

They had cut out his...

 

Rick’s eyes fell shut and panic welled in Negan’s chest.“C’mon sweetie, keep those baby blues open.” Negan urged, holding him up. Rick moaned weakly, head lolling back. Negan frantically fumbled to redress the man, cursing as he did so. Rick allowed his touch, leaning into him with fluttering eyes. He couldn’t speak. But he managed to meet Negan’s eyes.

 

“Hey Rick,” Negan breathed. “Let’s get you home, okay?” He took off his scarf, holding it out for Rick, gently pressing it to his lip. Rick watched him, surprisingly focused despite the blood loss. He offered no resistance.

 

 _Isn’t_ _this_ _what_ _you_ _wanted_?

 

There was that momentary satisfaction. That inhumanity that he could never shake. He had Rick Grimes in his arms, docile and cowed, but it was a fleeting victory, hollowed out by the bile rising in his throat as he looked at what his pride had cost him. Rick’s fingers closed over his wrist, grip weak and falling away. When Negan tried to stand, Rick sank down, body sagging.

 

“Baby...baby, Rick, hey come on now sweetheart, don’t do that.” Negan settled Rick against him, hand trembling as it stroked through his sweat soaked curls. “There, that’s it Rick, stay awake.” He helped Rick stand, taking most of his weight as he struggled towards the truck which remained running, the door left open from Negan’s haste.

 

“I’ll take care of you Rick.” Negan’s voice was shaking. “I won’t let anything else happen to you.” He lifted Rick up into the passenger seat, buckling him in before shrugging off his jacket and laying it over Rick who had begun to tremble, staring into the distance with unseeing eyes, mouth scarlet with gore.

 

Negan kept speaking, rambling as if he was drunk, unable to form complete sentences.

 

 _Got_ _what_ _you_ _asked_ _for_ _didn’t_ _you_ , _Negan_? _Rick_ _Grimes_ _is_ _never_ _gonna_ _stand_ _against_ _you_ _again_.

 

It was only hours later, as Rick was being cared for, that Negan realized he had left Lucille behind.

 

He never went after her.

 

* * *

 

 

Rick slowly recovered. His voice permanently gone and his spirit not as strong as it had been the morning before the attack. Negan could understand that sentiment.

 

He would never hear that sweet honey drawl again. Never hear that defiant voice, vexing and wonderful all at once.But Negan should have been pleased. He got exactly what he wanted.

 

Then why couldn’t he sleep at night?

 

The weeks after were muddled. Carl seemed to warm up to him. As if he had truly protected his father. As if he hadn’t been the one to sentence him to silence. Negan had Carl. As he had hoped to.

 

The good people of Alexandria appreciated him. They now looked at him with awe. It should have felt great. They were finally falling into line. He had what he wanted.

 

It was all ashes in his mouth.

 

Negan’s guilt had made him grow lenient on Alexandria, cutting back on their tributes and allowing them more freedom. He released Daryl, hoping he would help Rick heal and the way Rick’s eyes had lit up at the sight of him had been worth it.

 

Michonne still looked at him in suspicion, but allowed him to come and go.

 

The prisoners had not shared with Rick the conspirator behind the assault, more focused on fucking Negan over and vanishing. Negan had yet to track them down.

 

Rick had no one left to turn to. The rest of Alexandria was willing to fall into line and as far as Rick knew, Negan was trying to help his people instead of harm them. Negan had been nothing but kind to him since finding him after the assault.

 

He seemed to have warmed to Negan. He seemed to accept that Negan cared for him, taking his guilt as a change of heart, not truly realizing that Negan would always be the monster from that first night.

 

Rick had fallen into the comfort of his arms and eventually into his bed, silent and pliant and so fucking grateful for Negan’s sudden mercy towards his people.

 

At night, Rick slept at his side, tossing and turning and never managing to sleep soundly, plagued by violent nightmares. Negan never slept well.

 

Negan had won.

 

Just as he always knew he would.

 

“I’m sorry baby.” Negan whispered in the dark, voice heavy with emotion as Rick slept. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

 

He would try to do better, try to keep Rick’s once fighting spirt lit. He would offer his boy the world, too ashamed to offer anything less. The loss of Rick’s voice led to his loss of position as leader of Alexandria, now turning to Michonne as their voice. She was a good leader, there was no doubt. But she would never be Rick. No one could be what Rick Grimes was.

 

Negan spent twice a week in Alexandria, learning how to plant vegetables with Rick, who desperately needed an outlet. Rick was patient with him most of the time, a distant sadness in his eyes. Negan missed that fire.

 

Rick learned to live without his voice, using signs and signals to get his message across. He was no longer fit to scavenge on his own, losing his independence but as far as Negan was concerned keeping him safe.

 

In the early mornings, Negan would make up and stroke Rick’s hair. When Rick would awaken, he would smile weakly at him, the truth on the tip of his tongue but never to escape.

 

Instead, he linked his fingers with Rick’s pulling his hand up to press a kiss against the inside of his wrist.

 

To the victor goes the spoils and Negan had eon without having to raise a single finger. 

 

“You wanna go scavenging today, Rick?” He asked and Rick made a small noise of confirmation, lips curling into a soft smile. Negan’s fingers trailed up his arm and towards his face, cupping his chin with a gentle touch. Rick leaned in for a kiss and that dark joy curdled in Negan’s stomach.

 

What sort of savior was he? What sort of monster?

 

He pressed Rick back into the mattress, desperate to be inside of him and as always, Rick’s thighs fell open in invitation and those sweet moans eacaped his full lips as Negan slid in that tight heat, still slick from last night. 

 

Negan’s grip on Rick’s thick thighs were bruising, but Rick never complained. He never would again.

 

_Was it worth it, Negan?_

It was.


End file.
